Carnival Cruise Line Delivers Immersive Experiences with Belden Physical Infrastructure Solutions
Project Requirements
Meeting terrestrial connectivity expectations on the open seas a challenge. With so many guests concentrated in one area, ensuring sufficient bandwidth requires infrastructure planning that begins months in advance. Upgrading or outfitting a new ship must be done during dry dock for access to the hull and other areas typically underwater. It can take up to three years to rotate through the entire fleet of 26 ships mandating critical maintenance and infrastructure work be done in a 17-day window. Once this window is closed, the ship must sail.
For Carnival, their maintenance and infrastructure partners must share in their commitment to provide the highest level of guest service. Belden is honored to provide cable and connectivity solutions to support immersive guest experiences, wireless connectivity and system convergence on ship networks.
To keep pace with the emerging goal of a ‘digital ship’, Carnival needed a cabling and infrastructure partner capable of expediting large amounts of waterproof cabling and connectivity products. The cruise line was also looking to Belden to provide reliable, trained and certified installers capable of delivering in quick-turnaround environments.
Dry-dock installations require considerable planning to ensure other scheduled work isn’t impacted by technology infrastructure implementations or upgrades.
Solution
Cabling & Connectivity
Carnival Cruise Line’s knowledge of Belden’s end-to-end connectivity solutions was key to the company’s selection.
"With Belden, I know I’m getting a good product that is going to meet my expectations right out of the box without a doubt. That’s the real value,”
- Paul Whitney, IT Director for Carnival Cruise Line
- Belden 10GX CAT 6A Cable provides the necessary infrastructure to support wireless access points in all cabins & public spaces for thousands of active devices brought on board.
- Copper cables & connectors for fast, reliable connection to the Carnival Hub App, where guests book dining reservations & shore excursions, view/upload photos & chat with others onboard
- Following a thorough testing process, Belden’s OM4 Multimode Fiber Distribution Cable performed against all requirements, remediating long lead times with another provider. Carnival now uses Belden fiber optic cabling.
Installation
Belden worked closely with Carnival to identify and train installers to handle the cabling and connectivity work in marine environments. As PartnerAlliance members, all installers were certified and trained according to the latest and most relevant industry technologies, regulations and requirements.
“Belden truly helps Carnival simplify project management and protect the company’s investment. As a single infrastructure partner, Belden provides proven products and certified installers that we depend on.”
- Paul Whitney, IT Director for Carnival Cruise Line
Belden works hand-in-hand with each team of installers to coordinate what and how much is needed to get every job done on time. With certified installers, Carnival further benefits from a 25-year product warranty and lifetime application assurance to guarantee the installed cabling systems will meet or exceed industry standards for the next 25 years, and support future standards and protocols.
Results
With turnkey project management and future-proof cabling and connectivity in place, Carnival Cruise Line is confident its ships have the capability to support increasing numbers of active devices on board, as well as new technology for superior guest experiences and the integration of many systems onto ship networks.
